Rating: 
Summary: Extremely disappointed
Review: Never having read "A Road Less Traveled", I, unfortunately, purchased Peck's cassette "In Search Of Stones", with his voice on the tape. The tape was very disappointing to say the least. From the wonderful things I have heard about his other books, he is obviously a man who does not walk the walk, with his infidelity when he was touring and lecturing his book. I felt no remorse from him whatsoever. His voice became grating after a while and I could not finish the tape. It's easy to have a philosophy about life, however, living that philosophy is not so easy. I don't believe I will read any of his books as there are so many good writers now, who I beleive do live their truths.
Rating: 
Summary: A road less traveled?
Review: This book is well worth reading, but only to broaden a perspective on past books this Author has written. Although, wrapped in a 3 week trip to Scotland, this is really an auto-biography. The Author's life both fascinating and full of sadness. I have read The Road Less Traveled, People of the Lie and several other books Dr. Peck has written. Piercing books of the human condition. In my view there is a contrast and ambiguity to his personel life and the main tenets and themes of The Road Less Traveled. It makes one want to re-visit those themes, from a broadened perspective of the Author's own paradigm. Without question the man is brilliant with pen in hand. Provocative and probing in life's more serious problems. One difficult observation, is the anger beneath the surface directed towards the man's closest relationships. The relationships seem loving on the surface, but the actions portray a darker side. The serial infidelities, his wife has had to endure. The resentment of his parents. The estrangement of his children. In addition to his own physical self destructive habits of alcohol, and tobacco. Unfortunately, one could take the totality, and conclude, the man really doesn't care for himself or others close to him. I will continue to buy Peck's books and presently have "Golf and the Spirit" purchased and ready to begin reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Peck, the "evangelist of integration".
Review: This is the eighth Scott Peck book I have read... and he has yet to bore or disappoint me! In Chapter 13, he calls himself an "evangelist of integration" referring to his interest in bringing together the fields of general science, psychology, and theology in his writings. With this book we may add history, archaeology, and philosophy to the mix. By his own admission, he is a man "driven to integrate everything that is properly interrelated." As the subtitle of In Search Of Stones would suggest, this is exactly what he is attempting to do here in this 21-day journal-like account of a trip through Wales, Scotland and England with his wife Lily in June of 1992. To me, it is truly fascinating how their trip turns into an obsession of locating and studying the megalithic standing-stones that are everywhere scattered along their experience. Each day is a new chapter, respectively focusing on the following topics: Reason, Romance, Addiction, Holiness, Changing, Religion, Aging, Parenthood, Money, Death, Pilgrimage, Gratitude, Peace, Adventure, Consideration, Space, Time, Art, Integration, Despair. One does not have to always agree on every Peck-point (ie., in ch.10, he rejects the Christian doctrine of the resurrection of the body) to yet find him challenging, and yes... inspirational. He shares his thoughts in a way that never comes across ex cathedra, and the reader is never judged, but is rather, allowed to judge. I love his knack for summary statements... for instance, mental health is "an ongoing process of dedication to reality at all costs." Contemplation is "a lifestyle dedicated to maximum awareness." Salvation is "an ongoing process of becoming increasingly conscious." Of money, he says that "enough of it is not enough, at least not when we are chasing after the illusion of total security." He says that "death is probably the most important fact of life," and that "a grateful heart is one of the prerequisites for being a genuine Christian." He suggests that "laziness" might be the essence of what we call original sin. (Laziness not as physical lethargy, but mental, emotional and spiritual inertia). Peck says that "courage is not the absence of fear but the capacity to go ahead in the very direction of which you are afraid." I read this book while at a spiritual retreat and found it very inspirational, thought-provoking, and as metaphysically challenging as anything he's written, including his "In Heaven As On Earth." This is as close as he's come so far to an actual autobiography... here we are not on the couch in his office, but we are rattling along with him down bumpy backroads, being disappointed at yet another less-than-3-star accommodation... and peering into every farmer's field for perhaps another serendipitous adventure with the stones. Do whatever you have to do to get your hands on a copy of In Search Of Stones. I cannot possibly believe that it is currently out-of-print.
Rating:
Summary: Honesty and authenticity - cornerstones of Peck's narrative.
Review: This is the first Scott Peck book I've read, although I have been aware of him for several years. I found it refreshing and full of valuable insight about the things that are truly valuable in life. The book is quite readable and anything but dull. In fact, I looked forward to reading the next chapter or two each night while on a long business trip. Peck seems to have a knack for making a solid case for his views of Christianity and morality without overstating his point. The recounting of a trip he and his wife made to Wales and Scotland is deftly interwoven with many relevant truths discovered in his life over some fifty-plus years. I am thanful he was perceptive enough to see these truths and skillful enough to share them easily with his readers. His book has given me a refreshed view of the values in my own life. I recommend it to serious readers ready for some introspection of their own lives, combined with bits of humor and history.
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